SDSU games up for TV grabs

All 12 San Diego State football games will be televised this year despite the demise of the Mountain West’s television network, Athletic Director Jim Sterk said.

Three channels are in talks to pick up the six remaining games that were still up for grabs after the cancellation of the Mtn., the Mountain West’s TV network.

“We have been told all our games will be on TV,” Sterk said.

The remaining games likely will be on Channel 4SD, Fox Sports San Diego or Time Warner’s new regional TV network, which starts Oct. 1. The negotiations are being handled by the Mountain West and the CBS Sports Network, which holds the broadcast rights to league games.

The CBS Sports Network announced in May it had picked up three other SDSU games. The NBC Sports Network picked up two others. Another game – the season opener at Washington Sept. 1 – will be picked up by the Pac-12 Networks.

Since its launch in 2006, the Mtn. never was available to the 200,000 Time Warner cable subscribers in the northern part of San Diego County – a problem that made it a punching bag for Aztecs fans.

But at least one of the candidates to replace the Mtn. has the same problem: Fox Sports San Diego is not available on Time Warner, either.

Meanwhile, the distribution status for Time Warner's new channel also isn't clear.

“There are a lot of unknowns,” Sterk said.

Sterk said Time Warner's regional sports network is "trying to get into the San Diego marketplace." Similarly, Fox Sports SD would like to add live sports content besides the Padres.

Channel 4SD is carried by Time Warner and Cox.

Network representatives declined comment.

An announcement of TV coverage for the league’s remaining games is expected in coming weeks. The good news for SDSU is that all games will be televised, just like last year, according to Sterk.

Some games just might not be available to a large section of the county, just like in recent years with the Mtn.

Next year, SDSU plans to join the Big East in football, where it is expected to get far more coverage nationally. The Big East begins negotiations on a new TV contract in September. ESPN, NBC and Fox have shown interest already.